The Power To Change
by WriterJC
Summary: A continuation of ALL THE PIECES


Okay, to everyone out there who is sick of this never-ending story: raise your hand. :::raises own hand::: Good. Let's put this puppy to rest. J

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The Power to Change. 

By JC

Note: This story follows "All the pieces" and "Someone to Watch Over Me". You must at least read "All the Pieces" to have a clue what we are talking about here. 

"So what have we got today?" Sarah asked, as she settled a large picnic basket onto her kitchen counter. 

Gary took a swig of coffee, before turning to reply. "It's not too bad, just a few things." 

"Where?" Sarah leaned over his shoulder, attempting to get a glance at the articles that he had selected. All seemed relatively simple, but would require personal attention. 

"Good," she nodded. "Those are on the way to the beach." An add on the opposite side of the page caught her eye. "Ooh. Shoe sale at Hecht's." 

Gary grunted under his breath. 

"Hey, you never know when a good pair of shoes can come in handy," Sarah commented before placing a quick peck on his cheek. Leaving him to it, she moved across the room to gather the rest of the items that would be needed for their day at the beach. 

"Were you able to reach Marissa and Chuck?" She kept up a dialogue from the opposite side of the room. Gary was only half-listening as he was still immersed in one of the articles. He scratched subconsciously at the bandage that was still attached to his temple. 

"Ummh?" he murmured, not really looking in her direction. Sarah simply smiled and finished folding the towels. What Gary did was important work; work she was happy to share in. And she understood that he needed all of the details he could glean before they began. Doing what he did meant a lot to him, despite his grumbles to the contrary.

She remembered that first day in the hospital. How one wounded, half-delirious, mildly concussed man could be so much trouble, she just didn't understand. But if that man was Gary Hobson, all bets were off. He had been frantic to find the paper, even after she had explained to him that the paper had come to her in his absence. He had wanted to see it for himself, to find out what more needed to be done. 

She had obligingly gone to her car in search of it. Unfortunately, the paper hadn't been there. She had been greeted instead by an orange tabby curled placidly on her seat. He had looked up lazily as she opened the door, before disinterestedly closing his eyes and drifting back into kitty la-la land. 

Delivering the news to Gary had been interesting. . . She had almost been convinced that he was calm. He'd acted agreeable, and even encouraged her to go ahead and call her mother, but Sarah had been suspicious. She'd made the hurried call to her mother and rushed back to the room. She couldn't have been gone longer than a few minutes. Yet upon her return, she'd found Gary making an attempt at getting his pants on. 

Demanding what he had thought he was doing didn't help as that was patently obvious. Gary meant to go find the paper for himself. 

She barely managed to catch him as he sank to the floor. But still he struggled to get to his feet. Frustrated at such a disregard for his own well-being, Sarah had threatened to tie him to the bed. 

In the end that hadn't been necessary. After she had helped him to his feet, he had teetered for a moment before stumbling heavily unto the bed. Sarah used his momentum to get him onto his back. Weakness more than willingness had gotten him there, but at the time Sarah hadn't been too choosy. 

Once she'd gotten him there, she'd spoken calmly and quietly to him, soothing him with her voice. She had told him that since the cat was there without the paper, then maybe there simply wasn't anything else that needed to be done that day. 

Moments later, he had fallen into an exhausted sleep and didn't awaken for the rest of the day. 

Day two had played out a little differently. 

The elevators had opened on the ward to the sound of frantic footsteps, yelling and the sudden clatter of dishes. Sarah had stepped wonderingly through the doors in search of the racket at her own peril.

As she did, an orange streak shot by her followed by a green clad body. She had barely managed to jump out of the way in time. But she did catch sight of a tabby tail vanishing around the opposite corner, with an orderly hot on his trail. 

Sarah looked in the opposite direction and observed the path of destruction. It began at Gary's room door with the laundry bin. Sarah sighed, pretended not to notice the nurse at the station's suspicious eyes and continued along the hall toward Gary's room. The cat, she figured, could take care of himself. 

When she stepped through the door, Gary was fully dressed and looking relatively alert. A folded newspaper was rolled up in his hand. 

He grabbed her shoulders. "You've got to get me out of here." He pleaded. 

"Huh?" Sarah looked up at him. "No good morning, no nothing? Just break me out of jail, would ya?" 

"Good morning," Gary murmured, and shyly dropped a quick kiss on her lips. He paused, then gave her another. 

"Okay. NOW can you break me out of here? That nurse is watching me like a hawk. She thinks I have something to do with that mess going on out there." 

Sarah smiled up at him. Could he have possibly missed the fact that the cat was leading the orderlies on a merry chase? She decided that he didn't need enlightenment that day. 

"What do I have to do to bust you out of here?" Sarah asked. He certainly seemed like her Gary again. A little paler than usual, and he probably had a headache from Hades, but this was the beach and aspirin existed. They could fix those things. 

"Run interference," Gary suggested. "Create a diversion." 

There was diversion enough in the corridor for all of the 'prisoners' to escape, that is, if Nurse Suspicious wasn't on duty. A diversion was not what Gary needed. "How about I talk to the doctor?" Sarah suggested. 

Gary didn't look too entirely thrilled with the proposition, but he acquiesced. Sarah couldn't resist the urge to pinch his cheek playfully. He was being such a good 'little boy'. 

After a final examination the doctor had agreed to release him, with instructions, into Sarah's care. Gary had balked at the need to ride out in the wheelchair, but as he was 'getting out', he suffered that as well. 

They had had a very busy day between rescues and calling around to find out what had happened to Gary's paper back in Chicago. Gary's parents had left a message at the hotel, insisting that it hadn't come to them. There had been no time for the beach or much of anything else. 

That had marked the pattern for day three as well. Finally, for day four, Sarah had put her foot down. They would plan their day so that they had some time to enjoy themselves. The paper seemed surprisingly obliging. 

As she folded the last of the towels into the pack, Gary stood from the counter. 

"How long?" Sarah asked. 

"Forty-five minutes." 

"Good. Plenty of time." The had breakfast and arrived at McDonald's in time to save yet another businessperson from choking on breakfast.

The days that followed settled into a pattern. Gary had finally relaxed about the Chicago Sun-Times. It hadn't shown up at McGinty's or his parents or even the Blackstone Hotel. But Virginia's newspaper had arrived in his hotel room or at Sarah's apartment, wherever he happened to be along with a purring orange ball of fur that Sarah had decided to call Milty. 

Gary tried his best to protect the cat's dignity, insisting that no name at all was better than Milty. Sarah wouldn't hear of it. She'd explained that Milton was an old man that she'd met while setting up her foundation. He had left town suddenly on some urgent family business and she hadn't seen him in a while. 

Gary decided that he could probably stand it since the cat was only BORROWING the name until the old man returned. 

He and Sarah spent their days performing rescues and enjoying the beach or other amusements. Sometimes with "Milty" in tow, sometimes without.

Gary decided that he liked Sarah's family. Thomas, Sarah's younger brother, had taken an immediate liking to him. A news-junkie, the young man was constantly on the trail of one conspiracy or another. And since he had noticed right away that Gary was almost always carrying a newspaper and had somehow convinced Sarah to be interested, the young man was unrelenting. 

Jason, Sarah's older brother was distrusting of the man in his sister's life. Especially as he had, in Jason's opinion, broken Sarah's heart. But by the end of two weeks, Jason had decided that Gary deserved a chance. Gary, for his part, didn't mind that the other man was cautious. Sarah was special. 

But then, all too soon, Gary's prize vacation was over. He flight was due to leave out of Norfolk International in two hours. He didn't know how he was going to say goodbye to Sarah. The time that he had spent with her had shown him that he could have a life, and continue to receive the paper. It was possible for him to have the family he so desperately wanted. 

But could he ask Sarah to come with him? He had wanted to ask her, had even come close several times. But he knew that there were still things that needed to be done with her foundation. As much as he liked Thomas, he didn't think he was the man for the job. And Jason and Estelle had businesses of their own. 

He also knew how much keeping the foundation running meant to her. He just couldn't ask. 

He looked down at the next day's Virginian-Pilot and Ledger Star that sat across his lap. The paper had arrived that morning, just like clock work, along with Milty--He would never get used to such a ridiculous name--but would the Chicago Sun-Times continue to arrive outside of his door? He didn't know. 

The soft sounds of footsteps approaching him, brought him out of his contemplations. He looked up to see Sarah standing over him with a brilliant smile on her face. 

"Hi." 

"Hi." If he sounded a little confused, it was because he was. 

"Ready to go?" she asked. "I have a cab waiting for us outside." 

"A-a cab?" Gary's confusion grew. "Why do you have a cab?" 

"I thought I needed to get away," Sarah said. "Maybe visit Chicago." 

Gary's heart leapt. "What? W-what about your foundation?" 

Sarah's grin grew even more. "Remember by old friend? Well, turns out that he'll be arriving back in town today. He'll be handling the foundation for a while. Unless of course you don't want me in your city." 

Gary grabbed Sarah up into a happy hug and spun her around. She threw her arms around his neck and kissed him. An insistent toot from the front of the building alerted him to the fact that the cab driver had better things to do than to wait around for a couple of love birds. 

They purchased Sarah's ticket at the airport, and managed a few saves while they at it. They had an hour and a half layover in Atlanta. 

Sarah had gone to get Starbucks coffee while Gary remained in the gate area with their overnight bags waiting for their flight to be called for boarding. As he settled tiredly back into the sea, a shadow fell over his shoulder. 

He glanced back over his shoulder at a wiry old man. "How you doing?" he spoke and nodded slightly. 

The old man took his greeting as an invitation and moved around to settle in the seat beside Gary. 

"That's. . .uh. . .taken," Gary tried to tell him. But he couldn't get a word in edgewise. 

The man told him of a rush trip to Chicago for a family emergency. He rambled on and on, eventually producing pictures of his grandchildren. Despite Gary's best effort's the old man wouldn't stop talking. 

Finally, Gary decided that his only option was to move. As he bent over to grasp he and Sarah's bags, an airline attendant announced boarding for the flight in the neighboring gate. To Norfolk International. 

Talkative Old Guy and Gary ended up rising at the same time. The paper slipped out of Gary's jacket and fell to the floor. Something white and folded also fell from the old man's inner pocket. 

Gary's eyes widened as he focused on the next day's Chicago Sun-Times sitting on the floor alongside the next day's Virginian-Pilot and Ledger Star. 

"That's my paper!" both he and the old man said in unison. Quietly, Gary bent to pick up the Chicago Sun-Times and the old man, who's name Gary hadn't caught, bent to pick up the Virginian-Pilot and Ledger Star. 

They gave each other a long look, and then the man shook his head and turned and walked toward the airline attendant and handed her his boarding pass. He cast a final glance in Gary's direction, before shaking his head and climbing onto the plane. It seemed that for once, the old man had been rendered speechless. 

Sarah's voice drew Gary out of his observation. "You all right?" 

"Uh. . . yeah," Gary managed. "Fine." 

Sarah looked at the Chicago Sun-Times in his hand. "I see Milton brought your paper back." 

"The cat's name is not Milton," Gary said, automatically. 

"Who said anything about the cat?" Sarah winked at him and settled in the chair near her overnight bag. 

The End. Forever and Ever. Amen. Maybe. 

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[Email][1]

   [1]: mailto: jackeec@earthling.net



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